England is a tapestry of counties whose road signs beckon us across its seams. While some nod a simple welcome, others carry slogans offering everything from basic lessons in history to full-on personal development proclamations. But are their days numbered?

"Let Yourself Grow - it's not really been used since I have been here," says Jo Lappin, the current head of the Northamptonshire Enterprise Partnership.

She's referring to the message emblazoned across the welcome signs to Northamptonshire.

But some felt the message confused Northamptonshire with "a bag of compost" and within just six years it was deemed out of date by the very organisation which introduced it, the Northamptonshire Enterprise Partnership (NEP).

Mention compost, vegetable cultivation and the Let Yourself Grow slogan in the same sentence and Lappin will offer an obliging, if slightly self-conscious, chuckle.

Such signs would not be put up today, she says.

"Our days of huge county signage have ended," says Lappin. "Road signs take a long time to replace and they are very expensive.

Image copyrightGeograph/Benjamin HopkinsImage caption
Lancashire was given slogan surgery back in 2005 when it was repackaged as "A Place Where Everyone Matters"

"You can get the the same results in other, more cost effective, ways."

Let Yourself Grow has been been replaced "Love Northamptonshire" which, says Lappin, "has far more potential to blend into other areas" - for example "Love Northampton" or the county's career-focused "Love Talent" campaign.

Unlike the "grow" message, however, the "love" branding will not appear on county signs but online and in publicity materials.

Northamptonshire is not alone in moving away from boundary sign slogans.

Lancashire, for centuries the Red Rose County (and, yes, it remains so) was given slogan surgery back in 2005 when it was repackaged by Lancashire County Council as "A Place Where Everyone Matters".

Natalie Walsh, of Experience Nottinghamshire, said the slogan grew out of a media campaign strap-line in early 2013. It has since been adopted by Experience Nottinghamshire and is used in its marketing.

So how many days are enough in Nottinghamshire?

"That's a good question," says Walsh. "Well, we don't want visitors to come just for one day - there's far too much to see and do."

Image copyrightGeograph/Christine JohnstoneImage caption
Leicestershire County Council says the heart of rural England "is not a location"

Surveying the range of England's county mottos, Reddington has come to a conclusion.

"I suspect many of these people have lost track of why they are writing these slogans."

Leicestershire's motto, "the Heart of Rural England", is described as a "bit bland" by Reddington. "It's the heart of rural England. So what?"

One driver even went as far as lodging a Freedom of Information request with the council asking: "Where is rural England as I can't find it on my map?"

Leicestershire County Council, which put up about 25 Heart of Rural England road signs, provided a somewhat enigmatic response: "The heart of rural England is not a location."

As to whether the county might be rebranded as the home of champions, following Leicester City's coronation as Premier League winners, the council has yet to comment.

Image copyrightThinkstockImage caption
Horatio Nelson was born in Norfolk, the sixth of 11 children. He went on to become Viscount Nelson and won crucial victories against Napoleonic France

Norfolk's "Nelson's County" gets fairly short shrift from the Plain English Campaign. "Okay, he was born there," says Reddington.

Unsurprisingly, the Nelson Museum, which came up with the slogan (the project was funded by the late turkey magnate Bernard Matthews), sees it differently.

Curator Kerry Payne said: "There appeared an obvious correlation to the county and its most famous son, whose legacy and relevance are still current today. As Nelson himself was once quoted: 'I am myself a Norfolk man and glory in being so.'

"Members of the public who visit the museum often mention the signs.

"Some are unaware of the Nelson connection with Norfolk until their visit to the county."

But many counties are happy to do without slogans on county road signs altogether.

Suffolk (which called itself a "curious county" for a little over a year), Devon and Cambridgeshire are among those eschewing unnecessary road sign verbiage.

As is my home county, Yorkshire.

But if Yorkshire absolutely had to have one, as Visit Yorkshire's Hannah Bryan says, "the best one for Yorkshire is God's Own County".